The Acoustics of Belt Singing
Thursday 3rd October 2024, 5:00 PM - 7:00 PM (London Time)
Contemporary Commercial Music (CCM) covers a multitude of singing styles that have received less scientific attention than other types of singing. This is despite the fact that the vast majority of those who earn money singing (or teaching singing) do so in CCM styles. Belting − also referred to as the “musical theater” style or “broadway singing” − is a primary vocal quality in many styles of CCM.
Voice acoustics is an active area of research in many labs, including Dr. Meyer’s, where the science of singing is explored to inform (and improve) our pedagogical practice. However, voice acoustics is often a source of confusion for students and teachers alike.
In this workshop Dr. Meyer will present an overview of the acoustics of “belting” using layman’s terms appropriate for the beginning voice scientist and singing teacher alike. Particular emphasis will be given to instances where the first vocal tract resonance (which in the radiated sound is a “formant”) boosts the second harmonic of the sung tone (fR1 = 2fo). Though many sub-categories of “belt” may exist, a dominant 2fo (second harmonic) seems to be the common distinguishing spectral feature and an acoustic hallmark of belting.
Participants in this course will increase their knowledge of belt acoustics, and explore strategies for applying this knowledge in singing instruction.
🏷️ Price £30 (UK VAT inclusive)
🎥 Recording automatically sent to all who book (even if you cannot attend live)
▶️ Rewatch as many times as you like
📜 Certificate of attendance available
David Meyer
A leading scholar and researcher of the singing voice, David Meyer is an active performer, teacher, clinician, and voice scientist.
Attend this course for as little as £22 as part of the Voice Professional Training CPD Award Scheme.
Learn MoreSorry, this is an archived short course...
We have plenty of upcoming short courses coming soon. See details of some of them below or look at the full list of short courses.
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Shaped by the popular music of its time, musical theatre blends storytelling with an ever-evolving range of vocal styles—from classical legit singing to jazz, hip-hop, and powerhouse belting. Despite its importance, much of what we understand about vibrato comes from laboratory-based studies that strip singing of its musical, stylistic, and performance context. Join Dr Alyssa Becker as she connects current research with real-world pedagogy, revealing how elite musical theatre performers strategically use vibrato to shape style and storytelling, and showing how these insights can be applied in the voice studio to train stylistic flexibility and control!
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